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Albayrak B, Jablonski L, Felderhoff-Mueser U, Huening BM, Ernst TM, Timmann D, Batsikadze G. Fear conditioning is preserved in very preterm-born young adults despite increased anxiety levels. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11319. [PMID: 37443342 PMCID: PMC10344879 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38391-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Very preterm birth is associated with an increased risk for anxiety disorders. Abnormal brain development may result in disordered fear learning processes, which may be exacerbated by environmental risk factors and persist in adulthood. We tested the hypotheses that very preterm-born young adults displayed higher levels of fear conditioning, less differentiation between threat (CS+) and safety (CS-) signals, and stronger resistance to extinction relative to term-born controls. A group of 37 very preterm-born young adults and 31 age- and sex-matched term-born controls performed a differential fear conditioning paradigm on two consecutive days. Acquisition and extinction training were performed on day 1. Recall and reinstatement were tested on day 2. Preterm-born participants showed significantly higher levels of anxiety in the Depression-Anxiety-Stress-Scale-21 questionnaire. The fear conditioning outcome measures, skin conductance response amplitudes and anxiety ratings, were overall higher in the preterm-born group compared to controls. Awareness of CS-US contingencies was mildly reduced in preterms. Acquisition, extinction, recall and reinstatement of differential conditioned fear responses (CS+ > CS-), however, were not significantly different between the groups. There were no significant group by stimulus type interactions. The finding of largely preserved associative fear learning in very preterm-born young adults was unexpected and needs to be confirmed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilge Albayrak
- Department of Pediatrics I and C-TNBS, Pediatric and Developmental Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany.
| | - Lara Jablonski
- Department of Pediatrics I and C-TNBS, Pediatric and Developmental Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Ursula Felderhoff-Mueser
- Department of Pediatrics I and C-TNBS, Pediatric and Developmental Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Britta M Huening
- Department of Pediatrics I and C-TNBS, Pediatric and Developmental Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Thomas M Ernst
- Department of Neurology and C-TNBS, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Dagmar Timmann
- Department of Neurology and C-TNBS, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Giorgi Batsikadze
- Department of Neurology and C-TNBS, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany
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